Nancy Eckerson: Learn to embrace the pain

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Posted Sep. 30, 2012 at 3:15 AM

Posted Sep. 30, 2012 at 3:15 AM

Sometimes our biggest battles aren't visible to anyone else; they are the ones we fight alone. As a long distance runner, each run and each race presents opportunities to find out what we are made of, to go a little faster or a little farther, to push outside of our limits, whether they are real or ones that we have set for ourselves.In most races, there comes a point when I begin to question my sanity for voluntarily signing up for it, and I think that there just has to be a better way to spend time, such as stopping immediately and perhaps never running again. Usually, this is when I try to disassociate from the discomfort, turn up the volume on the iPod, orcount from one to ten over and over. But lately, when I reach that point, instead of avoiding it, I am working on acknowledging the pain, knowing it was going to come, and trying to push a little harder. When the race is over, memory of the pain disappears almost immediately, and we are left with the results and whether or not when it became difficult, we did or didn't give it everything we had.

Instead of avoiding pain by never pushing ourselves hard enough, knowing that it is part of the process and is something we can handle is how endurance athletes grow. When our fitness improves, while running never really gets easier, we get stronger and can look at our accomplishments of faster times or longer distances as evidence of our growth and perseverance. Whether we win races or are anywhere else in the pack, we all have the opportunity to find and exceed our limits. It may seem daunting to take that step, but I think it is worse to not do it and regret it. Or as Japanese poet and author Kenji Miyazawa said, "We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey."

To go beyond the physical to find ourlimits requires us to believe in the power of the human spirit, and ultra-runner Diane Van Deren, who will be speaking in Portsmouth on Tuesday, Oct. 9, as part of The North Face Speaker Series, epitomizes this belief. Van Deren was born with a number of athletic gifts that allowed her to compete at a high level for several different sports. But as an adult, she also endured 10 years of epilepsy so severe and debilitating that she chose radical brain surgery to allow for a seizure-free life. Before the surgery, running was one activity she could do to escape the seizures, and she found she could run far and long. Since having the surgery, Van Deren has won a number of punishing events, such as the 2009 Yukon Arctic Ultra, a 430-mile race through the frozen wilderness, known as the world's coldest and most difficult ultra. In May 2012 at age 52, she set a new course speed record for the North Carolina Mountain to Sea Trail, covering the 1,000 miles in 22 days.

Van Deren's races are so grueling that they put into perspective just about any race the typical runner will attempt, and some may question why anyone would try what she does. Certainly, there is a great sense of achievement in covering such distances. There is also something so fundamental about running, that no matter how the world changes, running will continue to be an activity that is both purely simple and difficult to do. It is hard to run long distances and yet that is part of the appeal.

Van Deren lists as her motto, "My legs serve as my words to inspire others to reach their own achievements. I appreciate each chance I have to touch a finish line."

All information to see Diane Van Derenin Portsmouth on Oct. 9 can be found at: http://www.runnersalley.com/events.html; all proceeds will benefit the Portsmouth Track Boosters.

Running Notes

On Saturday, Oct. 6 choose from these apple-themed races: Apple Harvest Day 5K in Dover, Applefest Half Marathon & 2 person relay in Hollis; Sunday, Oct. 7, run the beautiful Great Island 5K in New Castle, part of the Seacoast Series.

Nancy Eckerson writes about running for Foster's Sunday Citizen. You can reach her at nerunner1@comcast.net.